Adam Robinson
Employees want work-life balance
Adam Robinson
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Dealership staff that work more than 45 hours a week are much more likely to turn over than those who work fewer hours, according to Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology. “The magic number for hours worked in a week is below 45, regardless of legal jurisdiction and what the local labour laws may be.”
At the NADA Show 2019, dealers were looking for ways to improve their business. Robinson said it costs their store approximately $16,000 every time somebody turns over at a dealership.
“If you are turning over 70 per cent of your sales staff each year, that could be costing you about $360,000 a year, just using rough back of the napkin math,” said Robinson. “Dealerships need to see their jobs as products. No one wants to buy a full commission, no career path, 70 hours a week product.”
Robinson said there was a high engagement crowd at the show, and a pretty high volume coming through to their booth and asking a number of questions around hiring and retention. The top factors that job seekers look for when evaluating an opportunity (in order of importance) are: their career path and pay stability, among other things.
“If I come to work for you, what’s in it for me beyond the paycheque — what will I learn?What can I do later in my career?,” said Robinson. “I think the industry is not great at saying, ‘if you come in here, this is what the next few years will look like’ and when and what that means. So that’s a big opportunity.”
In terms of pay stability, Robinson said many dealers are still on full commission, paid by the piece, not by the hour. Pay stability is considered a real challenge because people need to know how much they are going to make. Dealerships may need to consider moving to flat rate pay plans which are guaranteed wage plans. This type of strategy shifts the investment or the risk away from the employee, said Robinson.
“I’m paying you every week. It’s my job to lead and develop you to be successful because I’m making that investment,” said Robinson. “It changes the entire mindset and we’ve been talking about that insistently so far this year, and certainly at this show. So it’s about work-life balance and that 45-hour (work week) concept.”
In terms of markets, Robinson said they have a nucleus of dealers in groups in Canada, both in and around the Toronto, Ont., area and all the provinces. “It’s an important market for us and we will be making investments in Canada to improve our presence there,” said Robinson. “It’s a market that, from our standpoint, is an even bigger opportunity for us. Because of the installed base of HR technology solutions. Dealers are winging it when it comes to hiring, and we see an opportunity and a lot of value there.”
Return to NADA Show 2019
